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Plant-insect interactions constitute
fundamental component communities of terrestrial ecosystems [1] [2]. The
different types of plant-insect associations in nature are thought to have
driven both plant and insect radiation [3]. The advantages of animal-mediated
pollination have led to the evolution and diversification of specialist
mutualisms between, for instance, plants and birds (e.g. [4]), while the need
for protection has spawned mutualisms between various tropical tree species and
ants [5] [6] [7]. Herbivory, on the other hand, has led to an arm’s race of
plant defence mechanisms and insect attack and feeding habits [3]. An ever-increasing
number of studies demonstrate the importance of biotic interactions in driving
evolutionary change, but considerably fewer reveal the mechanisms by which this
occurs in real-time [8] [9].

Most plants can reproduce asexually – that is, new plant life is created without the need for female and male sex cells to combine. However, amongst plants there is a variety of ways in which they can reproduce sexually. Sexual reproduction confers certain advantages to organisms: for example, by the remixing of sexual cells, more variation is maintained within a population and there are more likely to be some organisms able to withstand environmental changes. Animal-mediated pollination is a common way by which plants distribute their sex cells to other individuals in a population. Plant have evolved a wide variety of mechanisms to increase the likelihood of pollination, including conspicuous flowers, enticing scents, and sweet nectar rewards. Coffea and Citrus are plant genera which both exhibit attractive flowers and produce more fruit and seeds when pollinated by bees (Ricketts, 2004), which they reward with nectar. However, the nectar of species in these genera contain another, m…

To celebrate World Turtle Day (and here I'm using the word turtle broadly to mean all Testudines/Chelonia), here are some photos of sea turtles I took while snorkelling around León Dormido and Giant Galápagos tortoises on Santa Cruz, both in the Galápagos Islands. Plus a drawing that I don't appear to ever have finished... Drawing turtle wrinkles is really boring.

Today, 22nd of May, is the International Day for Biodiversity. This time last year, I was living in one of the most biologically rich places of the planet, somewhere on the eastern edge of Ecuador's share of the Tropical Andes biodiversity hotspot (figure 1). As the name suggests, this hotspot englobes the tropical portion of the Andes mountain range, along with its immediate foothills as they spill out into the Amazon rainforest. According to some criteria, the Tropical Andes hotspot ranks as the most biodiverse of the biodiversity hotspots. As far as science has thus far revealed, this area holds around 45,000 plant species, nearly half of which are endemic – that is, not native anywhere else. This is both the greatest number of absolute plant species and endemic plant species found in any one biodiversity hotspot. The Tropical Andes also boast more species of terrestrial vertebrate animals than any other hotspot, nearly half of which are also endemic. Within vertebrate animals, …

For the last 6 million years or so, the Earth has been subjected to drastic temperature fluctuations. During the Pliocene, the Earth underwent cycles of warm wet and cooler dry periods. Substantial continental ice began to form in the Northern Hemisphere around 3 million years ago (Mya), before the planet was plunged into a series of ice ages. Although you may think of an "ice age" as a snowy period after which woolly mammoths and neanderthals disappeared, you may not know that currently we are simply enjoying a "summer" break from this ice age. The last 2 millions years of Earth's history has consisted of various glacial periods interspersed by warmer times, known as interglacial periods.

Despite a relatively low mortality rate, there are hundreds of millions
of malaria cases worldwide per year, making the parasitic disease responsible for
a massive annual death toll [1,2]. The definitive hosts of the apicomplexan
parasites that cause malaria (Plasmodium
spp) are anophelinemosquitoes,
and various attempts have been made in endemic areas to control mosquito
populations as a means of limiting or interrupting transmission [3]. Malaria’s
pantropical distribution – therefore, prevalence mostly in developing countries
– means that even controlling vector transmission is met by a suite of social,
economical, and political obstacles. The same combination of issues added to
the parasite’s complex life cycle, have hinder widespread treatment or the
development of effective vaccines.

PhD student studying the ecological genetics of Caribbean seagrass at Manchester Metropolitan University. Following graduating with a first class BSc(Hons) in Zoology from the University of Manchester, I worked as a research technician for over two years. I am broadly interested in tropical biology, ecology, biogeography, and palaeobiology.

About the blog

This blog contains snippets from my year living in the Ecuadorian Amazona, including camera-trapping mammals, climbing trees, and counting critters in bromeliads; as well as notes on evolution, conservation, and any other biological topic that sparks my interest. I mostly aim to make these topics accessible to general audiences, so the non-science-enthusiast can find them as interesting as I do!